Machine for attaching spouts to containers



y 1968 M. H. KLAUSMANN ETAL 3,385,248

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING SPOUTS TO CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 21, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet l MIL 701V 6 KLAl/SMA w HEM?! u. BEUCKEE May 28, 1968 M. H. KLAUSMANN ETAL. 3,385,248

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING SPOUTS T0 CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 21, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIVE/W018i M/L 701v ll. KMl/SMA/Yl/ us/ver .1 BRUCKEA BY ATTtW/VE) May 28, 1968 M. H. KLAUSMANN ETAL 3,385,248

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING SPOUTS TO CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 21, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 w r M m 7.

Mil 701V 16 KLAll-SIMMI HENRY d EAMCKEP rroemsr May 28, 1968 M. H. KLAUSMANN ETAL 3,385,248

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING SPOUTS TO CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 21, 1966 l/VVEA/ZUBS. Mina/v H. KlAUSMdA/N HENRY u. BPUCKER M ATTORNEY Viv/ May 28, 1968 M. H. KLAUSMANN ETAL 3,385,248

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING SPOUTS TO CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 21, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 M/L 70 b- (MUM/VII HENRY cl BRl/C'KEE United States Patent Olfice 3,385,248 Patented May 28, 1968 3,385,248 MACHINE FOR ATTACHING SPOUTS T CONTAINERS Milton H. Klausmann and Henry J. Brueker, Summit,

N.J., assignors to Seal-Spout Corporation, Mountainside, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Feb. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 528,997

. 9 Claims. (Cl. 113-1) This invention relates to machines of the general nature described in US. Patent No. 3,025,813 dated Mar. 20, 1962, especially intended for the attaching to containers such as cardboard cartons, pouring spouts of the general type disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,011,434 dated Aug. 13, 1935.

In machines of this type generally there are means at one or more spout-feeding stations at which the spouts in blank form are fed successively, the :blanks are bent to form body portions and sector-shaped wings in angular relation thereto and prongs are stamped up from the body portion of the spouts, and there are a plurality of spout transfer and inserting units movable continuously in spaced succession or file formation in one direction to pick up spouts at the spout-feeding station and transfer the spouts in succession to a spout-inserting station in juxtaposition to the containers that are moved momentarily synchronously with the spout transfer and inserting units, during which movement each spout is inserted into a portion of a container wall and thereafter the spout transfer and inserting units return in the same direction to the spout-feeding station to pick up another spout.

In some known machines, the containers are moved in a straight linear path in spaced apart relation on a conveyor with the wall of the container in which the spout is inserted approximately perpendicular to the paths of the container and the spout-inserting unit. In other machines the containers are mounted on a rotary conveyor on arms that are radially disposed on a vertical shaft which is rotated to move the containers in an arcuate path with the walls to receive the spouts disposed radially to said arcuate path, and a primary object of the present invention is to provide a machine that shall be simple, relatively inexpensive, reliable and durable, for attaching spouts to containers handled by such a rotary conveyor that is commonly used in package forming and filling machines.

Another object is to provide a machine of this character with novel and improved means for mounting and moving the spout-inserting units in an endless course a portion of which is arcuate and approximately concentric with said rotary conveyor, whereby the spouts can be accurately and rapidly attached to or inserted into the walls of the containers while said containers are moved in said arcuate path and said spout-inserting units are moved along their said course of movement.

More particularly an object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction and combination of support elements for the spout-inserting units, guide tracks for said support elements and means for connecting said elements to drive chains, whereby said elements with the spout-inserting units shall be accurately moved with a minimum of strains and vibrations of the parts to insure accurate and rapid attachment of the spouts to the containers and long life of the machines.

Each spout-inserting unit includes a spout carrier which picks up the spout at the spout-feeding station and carries it to the spout-inserting station, and another object of the invention is to provide novel and improved means for insuring that the spout shall be firmly seated in the carrier to prevent accidental dislodging of the spouts during movement of said unit.

Other objects, advantages and results of the invention will be brought out in the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic top plan view of a machine embodying the invention, with portions broken away and other portions omitted for clearness in illustration;

FIGURE 1A is a fragmentary perspective view of a container and a spout inserted in one wall thereof;

FIGURE 1B is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of one of the container conveyor arms and a container mounted thereon;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged elevation of the side of the machine at which the spout-forming and feeding mechanism is located, with portions broken away and other portions shown in section;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged combined transverse vertical sectional view and side elevation taken approximately on the plane of the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of the parts shown in FIGURE 3 and viewed approximately from the plane of the line 44;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary partial plan and partial horizontal sectional view approximately on the plane of the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view approximately on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 1, showing a completed spout at the end of the spout :blank strip about to be severed from the strip in position to be picked up by the spout carrier of the spout-inserting unit;

FIGURE 7 is a similar view showing the completed spout severed from the spout blank strip and the spout forming dies opened preliminary to feeding of the spout blank strip to locate the next completed spout in position to be picked up by another carrier, and showing a spouttipping mechanism in normal position;

FIGURE 8 is a similar view showing the initial operation of spout-tipping mechanism for pushing the spout into the carrier;

FIGURE 9 is a similar view showing the spout seated in the carrier;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View approximately on the plane of the line 10I0 of FIG- URE 1, showing the carrier, the anvil and the carton in their relative positions immediately prior to the insertion of the spout into the container wall;

FIGURE 11 is a similar view showing the spout inserted into the wall;

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view approximately on the plane of the line 12-42 of FIG- URE l1; and

FIGURE 13 is an end elevation of the spout-tipping mechanism and the spout carrier from approximately the plane of the line 1313 of FIGURE '7.

The spout herein contemplated is shown as comprising a body portion a, prongs b on the body portion to penetrate and to be clinched upon the upper container Wall for securing the spout therein, and wings or flanges c to move in the pouring opening of the container as the spout is moved from closed to open position. As best shown in FIGURES l2 and 13, spout wings c normally and initially diverge or flare away from each other and from the body portion a and are initially inherently resilient, and also the flanges are angularly related to each other in the same way in which the longitudinal edges of the body portion a from which the wings project are inclined to each other.

Specifically describing the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the reference character A generally designates a rotary conveyor for the container B which are shown as comprising rectangular boxes having the usual side and end walls d and a, respectively, side flaps f and end flaps g. Any suitable means may be used for mounting the containers on the conveyor but for the purpose of illustration the containers are shown as disposed on arms C that are carried and project radially from a shaft D that is journaled in a suitable stationary support E to rotate about a vertical axis. Each arm has a main plate F secured to its outer end in a vertical plane on which are mounted side jaws G and H between which is gripped one of the containers as best shown in FIGURES 1 and 1B. The jaws are carried by the respective slide plates I and K which are slidably mounted on the plate F by pin and slot connections L. The two slides are pivotally connected together by a lever M that is pivotally mounted at O on the plate F and has a hand grip N at one end so that the two plates will move simultaneously in opposite directions upon swinging of the lever. The plates and corresponding jaws are normally biased in one direction by a spring P to grip a container between the jaws, and the jaws may be separated to insert and remove a container into and from the jaws by manual operation of the lever M.

The containers, with their upper ends open, are set into the jaws at a desired point in the path of rotation of the jaws, and the carrier is rotated by any suitable means so that the containers are caused to move through an arcuate path to a spout-inserting station with the end wall e of each container that is to receive the spout disposed approximately radially to that arcuate path. The conveyor may be driven by any suitable means but schematically there is shown a pulley and cross belt drive Q between the shaft D and a countershaft R which is driven as hereinafter described.

Coasting with the conveyor is a spout-carrying, spoutinserting and anvil mechanism generally designated U which receives finished spouts X from a spout-forming and feeding mechanism V that may be of any suitable construction, preferably of the general type shown in Patents No. 2,892,438 or No. 3,025,813. The apparatus U includes a plurality of spout-transfer and inserting units W each of which includes a spout carrier 1, a spout-inserting ram 2 and an anvil 3, and said units are moved continuously in spaced apart or file formation through a predetermined course a portion of which is located at the spout-inserting station and is approximately concentric with the path of movement of the containers.

The number of spout-transfer and inserting units may be varied as desired, as may also the number of spouforming and feeding mechanisms. The drawings herein show four of the units W and one of the spout-forming and feeding mechanisms V.

Generally describing the operation of the machine, a strip of spout blanks comprising fiat blanks h connected in end-to-end relation is fed step-by-step to successively locate the blanks in proper relation to dies i and j which are relatively reciprocable (FIGURES l, 2 and 6), and which bend the sector-shaped Wings of each spout relatively to the body portion a and also form the prongs b in the body portion after which the completed spout at the leading end of the blank strip is projected into a position to be engaged by the spout carrier of one of the units W. Then one of the carriers 1 moves into engagement with the spout, and in successive steps the spout is severed from the blank strip (FIGURE 7), the unit W of which the carrier forms a part moves with the spout therein to the spout-inserting station where the carrier is projected into juxtaposition to the outer side of the end wall e of a container B that is being conveyed through the spout-inserting station, and the anvil 3 is moved inwardly of the container through the open upper end thereof in juxtaposition to the inside of the wall of the container as shown in FIGURES 1, 10, 11 and 12, whereupon the ram 2 is actuated to force the flanges c of the spout through the container wall as shown in FIGURES 11 and 12 after which the ram is retracted in the carrier, the anvil is raised out of the container and the carrier and anvil are withdrawn from the path of the containers, it being understood that the unit W moves continuously synchronously with the container conveyor and in the portion of its course of movement that is approximately concentric with the path of movement of the container during the spout-inserting operation. The unit continues to move along its predetermined course toward the spout-feeding mechanism to pick up another spout and carry it to the spout-inserting station for insertion into the wall of another container.

The spouts are formed and projected into the path of movement of the spout carriers in timed relation to movement of the latter, the spout blank being shown as fed step-by-step by a mechanism known and generally designated k that is actuated by a cam m on a drive shaft 1 that also has a cam n thereon which actuates the dies. One die i has a cutting edge that cooperates with a cutting edge j on the other die for severing the spout from the blank strip.

The spout-forming mechanism is driven through a chain and sprocket connection Y by a drive shaft T which is journaled in the main frame I and has a driving connection S with the countershaft R from which is driven the container conveyor A.

The main drive shaft T is driven by any suitable source of power, and the units W are moved by said shaft through the instrumentality of upper and lower chains T and T" that pass around sprockets U and U" and V and V" on the shaft T and on a counter shaft R, respectively, to which chains the units W are connected at equi-distantly spaced points along the lengths of the chains.

The apparatus U and the units W are specially constructed and each unit comprises a support element 5 in the form of a rectangular plate mounted in upper and lower tracks on the main frame. On the plate at its upper end are rollers 6 and at the other end are rollers 7. The rollers 6 and 7 roll on the respective horizontal track surfaces 8 and 9 which are vertically spaced apart in opposed relation to each other, the rollers being journaled on studs 12 secured in mounting brackets one of which is separably secured to the rear side of the plate at each of the upper and lower ends of the plate by cap screws 11, with the rollers 6 and the rollers 7 spaced apart longitudinally of the support element and extending through arcuate recesses 13 in the upper and lower edges of the plate, respectively. Also mounted on each bracket 10 are two sets of rollers comprising the rollers 14, and 14' and 15', respectively, that are journaled on the respective pivot pins 16 and 16' secured in the bracket. These two sets of rollers are spaced apart longitudinally of the corresponding brackets and the support element 5 with the rollers 14 and 14' engaging a vertical track surface 17 adjacent the corresponding track surface 8 or 9, and the rollers 15, 15' engaging a vertical track surface 18 that is both vertically and horizontally spaced from the corresponding track surface 17. These track surfaces form upper and lower endless tracks and define the course of movement of the units W, having arcuate portions at the spout-inserting station and also having straight portions along which the spout is picked up from the spout-feeding mechanism. With this construction, the plate 5 is firmly supported and guided by the several track surfaces and rollers so that the plate may move along the tracks at high speeds with a minimum of vibration and strains on the parts.

Each support element or plate 5 is connected to the upper and lower chains T and T" adjacent the front or leading end of the plate. As shown, a connector block 19 is pivotally connected to each pin 16 between the rollers 14 and 15 and the block is connected to the corresponding upper or lower chain by connector links 20 that are riveted to the connector block at 21 and the links of the chain at 22. These connections are shown in FIGURE 5 and fragmentarily and schematically in FIGURE 1 where the connector links are omitted. Each connector block has a lug 23 projecting from its trailing edge and adapted to simply abut the chain to limit pivotal movement of the connector block relative to the chain during the driving of the support elements. An abutment block 24 is pivotally connected to the pin 16 of the set of rollers 14', 15' adjacent the rear or trailing end of the support element, the block 24 simply abutting the chain to limit swinging of the support element about the axis of the roller pivot pin 16 while driving forces are being applied to the chains and support elements. With this construction, it will be seen that the support elements may move through or over the curved portion of the chains and tracks with -a minimum of strains on any of the parts, the rollers being free to adjust themselves to the curvature of the tracks without imposing any excessive strains on the pivot pins 16, 16 or on the chains, and at the same time the support elements are firmly guided and held against excessive vibrations in the tracks.

In accordance with the invention, rigid strut-spacer elements or plates 25 are mounted in the tracks and connected to the chains at spaced points along the length of the chains, preferably between adjacent support elements 5. Each strut-spacer element has two sets 26 and 27 of rollers, corresponding to the sets of rollers 14, 15 and 14 and 15, respectively, journaled on a mounting bracket 28 like the bracket 10 and secured to the strutspacer element in the same manner that the bracket 10 is secured to the support element 5. The leading end of each strut-spacer element is connected to the chains T and T as indicated at 29 in identically the same manner in which the support element 5 is connected to the chains through the connector blocks 19, etc.; and the trailing end of the strut-spacer element has pivotally connected thereto abutment blocks 30 like the abutment block 24 on the support element 5. Rollers like 6, 7 are included.

With the support elements and the strut-spacer elements mounted in the tracks and connected to the chains as above described, the chains are constrained to move absolutely synchronously and with a minimum of possibility of looseness and slapping during the driving operation. The manner of mounting and driving of the support elements insures that they shall be accurately moved along their course of movement and particularly the arcuate portion of the course that is approximately concentric with the path of movement of the containers.

Each support plate 5 has an opening therethrough in which is mounted a split tubular guide bracket 31 wherein is horizontally slidable a U-shaped mount 32 which carries the spout carrier 1, the ram or spout pusher 2 and the anvil 3.

As shown, the spout-forming and feeding mechanisms V are mounted on the main frame adjacent the straight portion of the lower track, and as the units W pass along said straight track portions, the spout carrier first is positioned so as to pick up the completed spout at the upper end of the spout blank strip (FIGURES 1 and 6), and the anvil is first and normally held in a position to clear the spout and the containers as shown by broken lines in FIGURE 3. As the units move along the arcuate portions of the tracks juxtaposed to the container conveyor, synchronously with the movement of the containers, the mount 32 is actuated to move the carrier, ram and anvil transversely of the path of movement of the container so that the spout carrier of each unit is projected between two adjacent containers in juxtaposition to the outside of one wall of one container, and the corresponding anvil is at the same time projected into a position above the open end of the container and at the opposite side of said wall, whereupon the anvil is swung downwardly into the container close to said wall as shown in FIG- URE 10; and immediately thereafter the spout pusher or ram is actuated to push the spout from the cam'er through said container wall and cause a clinching of the spout prongs on the container wall as shown in FIGURES 11 and 12. Then the anvil is withdrawn from the container, the ram is retracted to its original position, the mount is actuated to return the carrier, the ram and the anvil to their first-mentioned normal positions and the whole unit continues in its course of movement to the spoutforming and feeding mechanisms to pick up the next spout.

The mount is shown as actuated in the manner above described by a roller 33 journaled on the mount and running in a cam track 34 that is secured on the frame sup ported by stanchion plates 35 on the main frame of the machine.

This track 34 has an arcuate portion 34' concentric with the path of the container at the spout inserting station, and has a portion 34-" at each end of the arcuate portion to position the mount so that it cannot crush the container as the unit approaches and leaves the arcuate portion. The track also has a straight portion 34 along which the mount and carrier are positioned to pick up a spout.

The anvil is carried by a lever 36 pivotally mounted between its ends at 37 on the mount and is actuated by a roller 38 on one end of the lever which follows a cam track 39 also mounted on the stanchion castings 35. Adjacent the spout-inserting station, the cam track 39 has a box cam portion 39 by which the lever 36 is actuated in both directions, while the other portion of the cam track holds the lever in its normal position as shown in FIG- URE 2 and by broken lines in FIGURE 3.

The ram is slidably mounted in a slot 40 in the carrier the cross section of which approximately corresponds to the shape of the spout as shown for example in FIGURES 3, 12 and 13. The ram is actuated by a lever 41 pivotally connected intermediate its ends at 42 to the mount 32 and pivotally connected at one end 43 to the ram. At its other end the lever has a follower roller 44 that rides over a cam block 45 pivotally mounted at 46 .on a hanger bracket 35' on the stanchion castings 35 adjacent the spout-inserting station. The cam 45 is normally biased by a spring 47 into the path of the roller as shown by broken lines in FIGURE 12, and normally the ram is retracted as shown in FIGURE 10 and FIGURE 12. After the carrier has been projected into the path of movement of the containers, the roller 44 strikes the cam block 45 and the lever is swung from the broken line position shown in solid lines in FIGURE 12 and in FIGURE 11 so as to push the spout from the carrier slot 40 through the container wall, the roller being guided by a cam track 45' in its travel to and from the cam block to hold the ram in proper position in the carrier. During this movement the wings of the spout pass into clearance slots 48 in the anvil, shown in FIGURES l1 and 12, and the prongs are clinched by the pressure between the anvil and the ram to secure the spouts to the container wall. The cam block 45 is swung against the resistance of the spring 47 into the solid line position shown in FIGURE 12 and as the roller 44 moves with the carrier, the action of the spring 47 on the block 45 urges the roller and lever into the broken line position shown in FIGURE 12 and simultaneously retracts the ram into its normal position shown in FIGURE 10.

As will appear from the foregoing description, the spout is picked up from the spout-feeding mechanism and frictionally held by the spout carrier as the latter moves over the feeding mechanism, but to insure that the spout shall be properly positioned and held in the carrier, the invention contemplates a spout-tipping mechanism and a seat for the spout in the carrier as shown in FIGURES 6-9 and 13. A spring strip 49 is secured to the ram by for example a screw 50 and has one portion extending along the bottom of the ram and projecting from the front thereof as indicated at 51 to form a seat for the spout, While another portion of the spring extends along the top of the ram and has one end projecting beyond the front of the ram to form a spring detent finger as indicated at 52. For

firmly seating the spout in the carrier, a tipping mechanism is mounted on a part of the spout-feeding mechanism or the frame I and comprises a tipping finger 53 rigidly connected to a gear '54 which is journaled on a stud shaft 55 secured in a bracket 56 that is fastened on the spout feeding mechanism or some part of the machine frame. Meshing with the gear 54 is a gear quadrant 57 that is journaled at 58 on the bracket 56 and has rigidly connected thereto an actuator 59 that normally projects above the surface 60 over which the completed and severed spout is initially moved by the carrier. A compression spring 61 mounted on an extension of the pivot stud 55 normally yieldingly presses the gear and the tipping finger 53 into sliding frictional contact with the bracket 56 so as to yieldingly frictionally resist movement of the actuator and the tipping finger.

In .operation, as the carrier approaches the spout at the leading end of the blank strip as shown in FIGURE 6, the tipping finger 53 is disposed below the plane of the surface 60 and the actuator 59 projects upwardly above said plane. The dies close and the cutting edges 1" and j thereon sever the completed spout from the strip and the carrier pushes the spout along the surface 60 as shown in FIGURE 7 until the spout hits the actuator 59. Continued movement .of the carrier and the yielding resistance of the actuator causes the spout to be lifted upwardly and rearwardly onto the seat 51 on the ram, and at the same time the actuator is swung downwardly by the carrier and the tipping finger is actuated upwardly into the path of the spout. Continued movement of the carrier relatively to the finger causes the spout to be pushed against the front .of the ram and beneath the spring finger 52 as shown in FIGURE 9. As the carrier continues to move, the finger 53 is pushed downwardly out of the way and the actuator is returned to its normal position, and the carrier continues with the spout firmly seated therein to the spoutinserting station.

We claim:

1. A machine for mounting on a container wall a pouring spout that includes a body having side flanges to be pushed edgewise through a zone of said container wall during mounting of the spout, said machine comprising means for supporting and moving a container in a horizontal arc-uate path continuously in one direction with one end open and said zone of the container wall disposed radially to said path, and a unit including a vertical support element juxtaposed to and movable synchronously with the container along and in a course approximately concentric with said path of the container that constitutes a spout inserting station, and means for guiding and driving said unit along said course, said unit also including a mount movable in said support element laterally of said path into juxtaposition to said container wall and having movable parts providing for the securing of la spout in said portion of said wall during said momentary movement.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for guiding and driving said support element includes upper and lower drive chains, and means pivotally connecting said support element to each chain adjacent the leading end of the support element.

3. A machine as defined in claim 2 with the addition of upper and lower guide tracks for said support element having portions approximately concentric with paths of the container and each having a horizontal portion in vertically spaced and opposed relation to the corresponding portion of the other track and two horizontally spaced apart vertical portions and there being a plurality of rollers for each track portion spaced apart on the support element in the direction of movement of said support element, and each of said drive chains is juxtaposed to one of said tracks.

4. A machine as defined in claim 3 with the addition of a strut-spacer plate adjacent said support element and means pivotally connecting said strut-spacer plate to each chain adjacent the leading end of the strut-spacer plate, with the addition of a plurality of rollers joumaled on each strut-spacer plate for each of said track portions.

5. A machine as defined in claim 4 wherein said drive chains and said track portions are endless and said unit includes a carrier for said spout whose normal position is at one side of said path of movement of the container, a ram for pushing the spout from the carrier through said zone of the container wall, and means for simultaneously moving said carrier and said ram from said position at one side of said path of movement of the container laterally of the said path of movement at said spout-inserting station to locate said carrier and ram at one side of said container wall, means for actuating said ram toward and away from said container wall to push the spout flanges through said zone of the container wall and withdraw from the spout, respectively, and means for thereafter returning the carrier and ram to said normal position, said carrier and ram being mounted for movement in an endless path in one direction past said spout-inserting station, and with the addition of a spout-feeding means at a spout-feeding station juxtaposed to said endless path of movement in spaced relation to the spout-inserting station providing for the feeding of a spout to said carrier as the carrier passes said spout-feeding station, whereby in one cycle of operation, a spout is picked up by the carrier at said spoutfeeding station, is carried by the carrier to the spoutinserting station, is inserted into the container wall by said ram, and the carrier returns to spout-feeding station for another spout and another cycle of operation.

6. A machine as defined in claim 5 with the addition of an anvil to resist the thrust of the ram on said container wall and wherein there is means for moving said anvil simultaneously with said carrier and said ram and to position said carrier and ram at one side of said container wall and the anvil at the other side of said wall, and means for actuating the anvil into and out of the container in juxtaposition to said wall while said ram is actuated toward and from the anvil to push the spout flanges through said container wall and the withdraw from the spout, respectively.

7. A machine as defined in claim 2 with the addition of abutment blocks each pivotally connected to the support element adjacent the trailing end thereof and each having a surface to separably abut the corresponding drive chains.

8. A machine as defined in claim 6 wherein said carrier, said ram and said anvil are positioned on a mount that is slidable in said support element transversely of said path of the container, and the means for actuating said mount includes coacting parts on the frame and on the mount, and means for actuating the ram and includes coacting parts connected to the ram and to the frame, and the means for actuating said anvil includes coacting parts connected to the anvil and mounted on the frame, respectively.

9. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein said spoutfeeding means feeds a spout integrally connected at the end of a spout blank strip, said carrier has a slot to receive the spout While the spout is attached to said strip and while the carrier is moving past said spout-feeding station, and with the addition of means for severng the spout from sad strip after the spout has entered said slot, and means for pressing said spout into said slot after such severance of the spout to cause yielding frictional engagement of said spout flanges with the walls of said slot whereby the spout is releasably held in and transferred by the carrier, the last-named means including a surface upwardly inclined in the direction of movement of the carrier over which the spout is slid by the carrier, a finger normally disposed out of the path of the carrier and an actuator connected to said finger and normally in the path of said carrier and engaged by the carrier after the spout has entered said slot to move said finger into the path of the spout as the spout is moved by the carrier, said finger yieldably resisting such movement and abutting the body of the spout to push the spout into the carrier, said finger being pushed by the carrier into its normal position out the path of the carrier and said actuator being thereby returned to its normal position.

W References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,589,769 3/1952 Brucker 1131 2,861,529 11/ 1958 Klausmann et a1 113--1 3,025,813 3/1962 Klausmann et a1 1131 RICHARD J. HERBST, Primary Examiner. 

1. A MACHINE FOR MOUNTING ON A CONTAINER WALL A POURING SPOUT THAT INCLUDES A BODY HAVING SIDE FLANGES TO BE PUSHED EDGEWISE THROUGH A ZONE OF SAID CONTAINER WALL DURING MOUNTING OF THE SPOUT, SAID MACHINE COMPRISING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING AND MOVING A CONTAINER IN A HORIZONTAL ARCUATE PATH CONTINUOUSLY IN ONE DIRECTION WITH ONE END OPEN AND SAID ZONE OF THE CONTAINER WALL DISPOSED RADIALLY TO SAID PATH, AND A UNIT INCLUDING A VERTICAL SUPPORT ELEMENT JUXTAPOSED TO AND MOVABLE SYNCHRONOUSLY WITH THE CONTAINER ALONG AND IN A COURSE APPROXIMATELY CONCENTRIC WITH SAID PATH OF THE CONTAINER THAT CONSTITUTES A SPOUT INSERTING STATION, AND MEANS FOR GUIDING AND DRIVING SAID UNIT ALONG SAID COURSE, SAID UNIT ALSO INCLUDING A MOUNT MOVABLE IN SAID SUPPORT ELEMENT LATERALLY OF SAID PATH INTO JUXTAPOSITION TO SAID CONTAINER WALL AND HAVING MOVABLE PARTS PROVIDING FOR THE SECURING OF A SPOUT IN SAID PORTION OF SAID WALL DURING SAID MOMENTARY MOVEMENT. 